ALBUM REVIEW: KYLVER – The Mountain Ghost

It starts softly: the slow meandering of a church organ. It doesn’t last long though – the distortion builds up in the background, the thundering riffs make their presence felt, the drums come crashing in and Kylver are away.

On their debut album The Mountain Ghost, the Newcastle four-piece make good on their intention to bring together various strands of the heavier end of guitar music – oddball prog, lumbering stoner rock, intricate post-rock, bludgeoning doom – into one suitably ambitious package.

Although there’s a vague conceptual narrative underpinning the album, these four lengthy instrumental tracks stand up just fine without such accruements. Kylver can certainly pack a punch when needed, but it’s often the more subdued moments, such as the gorgeous, piano-led opening passage of The Feast of the Mountain Ghost, that really impress.

It’s these more wiggly, complex detours that set Kylver apart, and while the more straightforward likes of The Dance of the Mountain Ghost have their place, it’s hard not to hope that they push their more experimental, playful side as they progress. For now though, The Mountain Ghost serves as a fine calling card for the band.